Thatcher Hits No Winners In Telling Lloyds' Story

September 7, 1986|By Reviewed by Paul Gilbert of The Sentinel Staff

Carol Thatcher's new book Lloyd on Lloyd has a good serve but no volley. The idea of recounting two tennis careers entwined in matrimony is an intriguing one, but Thatcher refuses to deliver a winner in this lackluster biography of Chris Evert Lloyd and John Lloyd.

Thatcher, daughter of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, never capitalizes on several opportunities that could show some insight into Evert Lloyd's poker-face game style. Instead, she gives a listless account of some of the more exciting moments in women's tennis, then appends a few meaningless quotes to show she actually did talk to her subjects.

For example, when Evert Lloyd played against Billie Jean King in the classic semifinal match of Wimbledon in 1975, King rallied from behind 6-2, 3-0 to win the match. Thatcher could have described the anguish that the young star went through, or analyzed how or why Evert Lloyd fell apart. Instead, she quotes Evert Lloyd's father saying to a friend, who felt Chris had the match wrapped up in the second set, ''Don't be so sure.''

Nor does Thatcher improve when describing John Lloyd's career. The book reads like an endless barrage of newspaper-wire stories that make tennis about as exciting as an almanac.

Of course, Lloyd on Lloyd attempts to discern what really went on with Evert Lloyd and Jimmy Connors, and why the two broke up. But Thatcher uncovers nothing that isn't already public knowledge, and she offers no new insights on either Evert Lloyd's private or professional life.